Observe how and when your teacher closes his or her lessons and/or activities. How does he or she end each class period? Is there a set routine? If so, describe it. Pay special attention to when you teacher begins to end the class. Does he or she return to the purpose or main idea of the lesson? Does he or she "set up" the homework or the next day's activity? Is the teacher still teaching when the bell rings or are students already poised to leave? Is there some "dead time" at the end of the class period? If so, how much? How do students react to your teacher's closing strategies? Remember that these questions are a guide and that you don't have to answer each one. Be sure you reflect on your observations and describe how you will try to end your classes. What supports for these ideas might you include in your lesson plans?
Observation
My Ct is always aware of how much time he has left and tends to close the lesson at the "appropriate" time. In other words, If students are engaged in a class activity, he will tend to cut it short by 5 minutes to make an announcement, or to praise the students for their efforts; tell them to clean up their stations and get organized; tell them what the game plan is for the next class, assign homework and where they are heading. In some cases, if he is lecturing, he will stop based on what he feels is a good stop point instead of diving into the next chunk of material because he does not want to start on a new concept, particularly because he only sees the classes every other day. If there is some time left and he does not want to dive into a new activity or more lecture, he will have students write in the journal entries at the end of the period by asking them 2-3 questions about the lesson that was just given so he can get a better feeling for if his students truly understand the material so he can adjust the schedule depending on how much is needed to revisit the concept if it appears students are unsure. There also has been a number of classes that there is a some dead time where as he stops and students typically chatter away until the bells rings. He does not teach until the bell rings. He always makes sure that he stops to review whats expected for the next class.
Reflection
When thinking about how I will close my lessons.....I can't give you a straight answer. There are some crucial things that I think are absolutey important such as leaving at least 10 minutes reserved for a class discussion, reflection or share out. Whether this is to discuss how the concept can be applied or connected to the real world, whether it is a share out on lab results, student's reactions, or discussion about concepts. I do think that the closing is as equally important as the opening, particulary with block scheduling where you are only seeing your students every other day. You better leave a good lasting impression. I believe that you should leave students with a mind-baffling thought or challenge (even if it is not a formal homework assignment) to keep them interested and thinking about the science of a topic and the possibilities. I would like to leave them with enough time so I can also go over my expectations for the class and go over homework if I have any. During some days, I may leave enought time for a questions and answer session if the topic appears difficult. I believe in changing it up.
During the last period of my obesrvation during the first 2 minutes of class before all students have arrived, one of the girls asked "What are we doing today Mr. B?" He said "Some Lecture notes" as he walked into the hallway. The other girls at the table said something along the lines like "Oh Lecture, Big Surprise" and groaned while others rolled their eyes. This was an eye opener because although they students are typically very well behaved, high acheivers who never show signs of boredorm, they clearly were. It hit me..........Even when you think you are students are engaging and doing well...They may be Going thru the motions...It's important to shake it up, change it up and keep thing interesting on a daily basis. I intend to do this with my openings, body of the lesson and of coures the closings.
Observe how and when your teacher closes his or her lessons and/or activities. How does he or she end each class period? Is there a set routine? If so, describe it. Pay special attention to when you teacher begins to end the class. Does he or she return to the purpose or main idea of the lesson? Does he or she "set up" the homework or the next day's activity? Is the teacher still teaching when the bell rings or are students already poised to leave? Is there some "dead time" at the end of the class period? If so, how much? How do students react to your teacher's closing strategies? Remember that these questions are a guide and that you don't have to answer each one. Be sure you reflect on your observations and describe how you will try to end your classes. What supports for these ideas might you include in your lesson plans?
Observation
My Ct is always aware of how much time he has left and tends to close the lesson at the "appropriate" time. In other words, If students are engaged in a class activity, he will tend to cut it short by 5 minutes to make an announcement, or to praise the students for their efforts; tell them to clean up their stations and get organized; tell them what the game plan is for the next class, assign homework and where they are heading. In some cases, if he is lecturing, he will stop based on what he feels is a good stop point instead of diving into the next chunk of material because he does not want to start on a new concept, particularly because he only sees the classes every other day. If there is some time left and he does not want to dive into a new activity or more lecture, he will have students write in the journal entries at the end of the period by asking them 2-3 questions about the lesson that was just given so he can get a better feeling for if his students truly understand the material so he can adjust the schedule depending on how much is needed to revisit the concept if it appears students are unsure. There also has been a number of classes that there is a some dead time where as he stops and students typically chatter away until the bells rings. He does not teach until the bell rings. He always makes sure that he stops to review whats expected for the next class.
Reflection
When thinking about how I will close my lessons.....I can't give you a straight answer. There are some crucial things that I think are absolutey important such as leaving at least 10 minutes reserved for a class discussion, reflection or share out. Whether this is to discuss how the concept can be applied or connected to the real world, whether it is a share out on lab results, student's reactions, or discussion about concepts. I do think that the closing is as equally important as the opening, particulary with block scheduling where you are only seeing your students every other day. You better leave a good lasting impression. I believe that you should leave students with a mind-baffling thought or challenge (even if it is not a formal homework assignment) to keep them interested and thinking about the science of a topic and the possibilities. I would like to leave them with enough time so I can also go over my expectations for the class and go over homework if I have any. During some days, I may leave enought time for a questions and answer session if the topic appears difficult. I believe in changing it up.
During the last period of my obesrvation during the first 2 minutes of class before all students have arrived, one of the girls asked "What are we doing today Mr. B?" He said "Some Lecture notes" as he walked into the hallway. The other girls at the table said something along the lines like "Oh Lecture, Big Surprise" and groaned while others rolled their eyes. This was an eye opener because although they students are typically very well behaved, high acheivers who never show signs of boredorm, they clearly were. It hit me..........Even when you think you are students are engaging and doing well...They may be Going thru the motions...It's important to shake it up, change it up and keep thing interesting on a daily basis. I intend to do this with my openings, body of the lesson and of coures the closings.